UPDATE: Emu found wandering in the woods near Pinckney has returned home

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The Potawatomi Trail Emu has found its way home.

Thousands of Livingston Post readers have been following the saga of the emu, which was found wandering in the woods south of Pinckney yesterday by a family of Livingston County hikers. The Moorehouse family discovered the emu on Sunday afternoon while hiking on the Potawatomi Trail, just south of Patterson Lake Road in Hell.

A story and video on the emu encounter was posted on the Livingston Post on Sunday, and thousands of people clicked on it. Because the emu is native only to Australia, many folks were surprised to learn that they’re also found on farms in Livingston County.

It turns out the emu belonged to a large emu farm on Patterson Lake Road, and the owner was relieved to learn of its whereabouts. She said the big bird had gotten spooked by something a few days ago and had somehow escaped its enclosure.

The owners spent several hours wandering through the woods looking for it, to no avail. About 3 p.m. Monday, though, the emu had returned to the farm on its own.

“He just came home and walked right up wanting to know where the food was,” the owner said. “Walked right into the pen. He is just fine. They are very used to people. No injuries to worry about.”

The owner said this emu is a young one, only about one year old, and is likely a male (it’s still too early to know for sure).

As for how it found its way home, “They respond to the sounds of the other ones,” the owner said. “They are like bats. They instinctively know how to find home.”

For a look at the Moorehouse family encountering the emu in the woods, see the video below.

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.